Apple Watch Class Action Lawsuit Claims Popular Device Can Cause Severe Wrist Injuries

The lawsuit claims Apple knew about the problems and risk of severe wrist injuries for years, but failed to warn consumers or correct the design problems

According to allegations raised in a recently filed class action lawsuit, Apple Watches contain design defects which may allow the lithium ion battery to swell and crack the housing, resulting in laceration injuries.

The complaint (PDF) was filed earlier this month by several plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, who claim Apple knew about the design problems, which could cause the metal or glass enclosures to crack and cut consumers. However, no Apple Watch recall has been issued, which plaintiffs say is to avoid costly repairs and replacements.

The four plaintiffs named in the complaint state that Apple did not allocate enough room within the watch’s housing to allow for natural lithium ion battery swelling, causing the screens to pop away from the casing, or for the metal or glass casings themselves to crack, causing consumers to suffer severe wrist lacerations.
The lawsuit alleges Apple knew of the design defect prior to the release of its first generation Apple Watches in 2015, and had accumulated knowledge of incident reports shortly after the products hit the market.

The plaintiffs cite dozens of complaints reported in Apple’s “Support Communities” online forum, which Apple states it monitors and encourages consumers to give feedback and pose questions.

The lawsuit also referenced Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 9,912,186 issued in March 2018, which states: “Continued use of a lithium-polymer battery over time may also produce swelling in the battery’s cells. . . a user of a device may not be aware of the battery’s swelling and/or degradation until the swelling results in physical damage to the device.”

However, the Apple Watch problems were not acknowledged until April 2017, when the manufacturer extended the warranty for qualifying models of its First generation watches

Despite knowledge of the dangerous space constraints Apple continued to configure the following y Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, Series 4, Series 5, Series 6, and Series SE models with the same battery shape, battery chemistry, screen materials and identical internal configuration with no thermal barrier to reduce the risk of injuries to consumers, according to the complaint.

One of the plaintiff’s listed in the complaint, Chris Smith, indicates he was wearing his Series 3 Aluminum Apple Watch while sitting in a golf cart on September 8, 2020, when he felt a sudden pain on his left wrist. Smith indicates he turned his wrist to notice the Apple Watch had severely sliced the underside of his forearm, cutting a vein and requiring hospital treatment.

After receiving medical treatment, Smith submitted an inquiry about coverage for the cracked watch, which was ultimately denied by Apple. Smith visited Best Buy, which acted as an authorized representative of Apple, but was again denied coverage or repair costs. This left Smith to cover the expensive repairs, as well as the medical costs of injuries caused by the defective watch, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit seeks class action status to represent all consumers similarly situated who paid a premium for defective and dangerous Apple Watches which range from $399 to $1,499 in price. The lawsuit claims Apple intentionally neglected known defects that put consumers at risk of harm while failing to offer a sufficient remedy or replacement.